


Someday I'll Be Gone

by bearsol



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Nen, Chrollo (minor character), Eventual Happy Ending, Hisoka (minor character), Kurapika is nb and uses he/they, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mizai (minor character), eventual leopika, this tag will be updated as the fic continues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-09-16 03:23:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16946052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearsol/pseuds/bearsol
Summary: Kurapika is finally able to begin his revenge scheme against the Troupe and he will stop at nothing to get back at them. At least that's what he keeps telling himself. Because what other choice did he have?





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! This is the first time I'm committing to writing a multi-chapter fic as well writing for hxh.  
> Let's see how well I do with that!
> 
> This is a no nen au that takes some minor inspiration from the animes 90 days and B: The Beginning. If you've seen either than during the course of this fic you might/probably will see the influence! The time period is the late 90s but there will probably be many anachronisms.

Kurapika was thankful that he had the foresight to book a hotel room for the first night in this new town. However, he should have explored multiple avenues regarding his upcoming living arrangements instead of one. If he had, then he wouldn’t have encountered a problem so early in his plans. He pinched the bridge of his nose, twisting the telephone cord around his finger.

“I know this is an inconvenience to you but I already leased the room out to someone else. No one picked up when I tried to call the number you gave me last week. So I couldn’t tell you earlier. I hope you find a place though,” the woman on the line said.      

No one had called him or even left a message in over a month. He was about to point her lie out but decided against it. Instead, he gave her a curt thank you, goodbye and then hung up.

He stood up from the desk chair, noting how the room was bathed in an orange glow. Kurapika didn’t bother looking at the clock on the nightstand. He knew enough already. Evening was drawing upon him. If he wanted to rent a room by tomorrow at best then he would have to make haste.

Right now he had two options: Search through the city’s newspaper classifieds or search online. Option one would narrow down the search area and produce more recent results. However, there would be less information since newspapers typically charged by the line. Option two would yield limited results but cast a wider net. Some might be more recent than the ones in the newspaper. Those ads also wouldn’t be limited by word count and some might include pictures. Kurapika chose to go with the latter even if he had possibly fewer to choose from. It would take too much time to call potential owners to gather what he needed to know.

He walked over to his luggage located at the foot the bed. Opening his duffle bag, he unzipped one of the inner pockets, grabbed a couple stacks of money and stuffed them into his satchel. Hopefully, it was a persuasive amount. There was a clear sense of urgency in every step he took once he left his room. It only took a few minutes to reach the lobby since his room was on the first floor. The computer room was located to the right of the front desk.

To his mild surprise, the room was relatively empty. He sat at one of the computers furthest from the door. It wasn’t difficult to find other advertisements. Some of them had been up for a month. Others were more recent. The most recent was from 5 hours ago. That one had caught his attention, especially the part that read:

_MOVE-IN DATE NEGOTIABLE_

“Apartment 620… Leorio…” Kurapika murmured as he scribbled down his relevant information on a scrap of paper. Since the ad was only posted mere hours ago, this person might not have any offers yet. Kurapika could seal the deal quickly.   

At best he might be able to persuade Leorio to let him move in tomorrow. At worse, he would have to wait a few days and in the meantime extend his hotel stay until then. Either way, he needed to leave the hotel. It would be financially unsound and stupid for him to stay there for the duration of this scheme. Kurapika left the room to go to the closest payphone.

After shoving the coins and punching in the numbers from the paper, the phone started ringing. It went on long enough that he thought no one was going to pick up. Until.

“Hello? This is Leorio speaking.” The voice on the other end was clear and his words were softened by a slight rasp. 

“Yes, hello. My name is Kurapika. I’d like to know more about the room you’re renting out. Are you busy at the moment?”

“Uh, no I’m not.” Kurapika heard him mutter something along the lines of ‘that was quick before saying more clearly, “Whaddya wanna know?”

“I’d like to discuss this in person so I’m coming over-” 

“Whoa hold your horses! You’re coming right now?” 

“Yes, is that a problem?” 

The line was silent for a couple moments. “You can come over but give me an hour to tidy up.”   

“Understood. I’ll come by afterward. Goodbye.”  

* * *

 

Meadow Loop was a small town in comparison to Yorknew City yet Kurapika still managed to get lost on his way to Leorio’s apartment. It wouldn’t have been a far walk from the hotel if he started off in the right direction. After three wrong turns and almost asking for directions, he had found the place. Kurapika’s sense of direction normally wasn’t so abysmal but fatigue had a way of dulling his intuition and senses after all.   

Leorio opened the door after a few knocks. He wore an untucked white dress shirt and dark slacks. His head almost touched the doorway but his height was unimposing. While Kurapika would comment that wearing bunny slippers and tropical socks was a sign of poor taste, he noted more importantly that he didn’t get a bad feeling from him.  

“Are you the one I spoke to on the phone?” He held out his hand once Kurapika nodded. “Kurapika was it?” A beat passed before Kurapika remembered what he was supposed to do. He clasped his hand and gave him a firm squeeze. 

Leorio’s hand was warm.   

“Quite the grip you got there,” Leorio said once they let go. He took a step back into the apartment, holding the door open. “Come on in. Sit anywhere you’d like.”

Kurapika entered into what he assumed was the living room or dining room. There wasn’t a clear boundary between them. Both were clearly used though. A number of thick texts stacked up on each table. He opted to go sit in the dining room table to avoid the awkwardness of sitting next to one another. Leorio followed suit.

Oh. They were medical textbooks. That reminded him of… He cleared his throat. No need to follow that line of thought. “I apologize for the abruptness,” he started, folding his hands on the table. “It was just that I was hoping to secure this room for tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, huh? That’s...” 

“Yes, I know, ‘soon’. Don’t worry about the state of the room. It’s not an issue.” Neither were the gaudy movie posters in the other room.

A very audible hum came from Leorio. He closed his eyes, stroking his chin. Kurapika couldn’t discern what he was thinking about. Not enough time had passed for him to gather clues on the type of person Leorio was outside of his previous judgments.  

“Please... Based on what you listed on your ad-” Kurapika placed his satchel on his lap,  taking out the money. “This should cover a few months.”

Leorio’s eyes widened, nostrils flared as a grin almost distorted his features. “You should’ve started the conversation with this!” He practically grabbed the bills from his hand to count. Kurapika clenched the fist in his lap, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Leorio clasped his still outstretched hand, giving it a hearty shake. “Welcome aboard, roomie!”

“I’ll go draft up a roommate agreement-” Leorio let go of his hand right as a phone rang. He produced a phone from his pocket. “Would you excuse me a moment? This might be important.” He didn’t wait for Kurapika to respond, getting out of his seat and entering the kitchen.

“What? Please calm down ma’am. Take a deep breath then explain what happened.” He heard Leorio say. Because without even trying he spoke loudly. Thus to avoid accidentally eavesdropping, Kurapika decided to put some more distance between them by moving to the living room sofa.

The sofa was worn and had a couple coffee stains on it but it didn’t smell bad. Rather it emitted a perfumy smell; presumably whatever Leorio wore. He relaxed into it a little. It was then he noticed music playing. Jazz? It was faint but pleasant to listen to. He looked around for the source which he found came from the stereo below the tv. He closed his eyes, focusing on the melody.

 

“Um, Kurapika?”

His eyes snapped open at the sound of his name to see Leorio towering over him. The clock on the wall let him know that only ten minutes had passed. The man, who now wore a suit jacket, gave him an understanding smile. “Hey. Sorry ‘bout that one of my patients needed help. She wants me to come over to check on her mother. So we can fill out the agreement tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’ll take my leave then. What time should I come by tomorrow?” Kurapika stood up, heading towards the door. Leorio was behind him.

“You can come by around 9 or later on in the day like 6.” He locked the door behind him once they both had gone through. Kurapika didn’t wait. He was already near the elevators. “Hey, don’t be so cold! We’re roommates now after all.” Leorio called after him.

Kurapika didn’t respond to that but he also didn’t hit the button to close the elevator cool as Leorio lightly jogged to catch up. Once inside, Leorio attempted to make small talk.

6th floor.

“So... where are you staying now?”

“At a hotel.”

5th floor.

“Which one?”

“Turtle Stream.”

4th floor.

“Oh, that’s along the way. I can drop you off.”

“No, that’s quite alright.”

3rd floor. 

“It’s really no problem.” He blocked Kurapika’s view of the door to get his attention. “It’s very apparent you're tired like when was the last time you had a good night’s rest….. Or actually slept?”

2nd floor.

What did it matter anyway? It was none of his business and he wanted to ignore him yet Kurapika also wanted to defend himself. It took him a moment to remember when the last time had been.

“Wednesday.” He crossed his arms.

1st floor.

Leorio looked scandalized as the elevator doors opened. “Kurapika!”

“What?” Kurapika couldn’t mask the irritation in his voice. “You don’t need to concern yourself over me.” Short of actually running, he entered the lobby, heading towards the out the main door.

Because of his annoyingly long strides, Leorio was able to keep up with him. “In less than four hours it will be Saturday,” he said. They had stopped walking near the entrance of the building. “As someone, I’m going to live under the same roof as, I do have some concerns about your safety. And I don’t think it’s _safe_ to walk alone at night in such state.” Leorio sighed before continuing. “But if you insist, then I’ll drop it. I don’t want to start things off on the wrong foot so.”

Kurapika wanted to rebut that he had managed just fine getting here. That this wasn’t the first time he skipped days sleeping. But, he didn’t… He didn’t. He was indeed tired.

“Okay. You can drop me off,” Kurapika said.

Leorio smiled. “You’re gonna meet Blanche!”

“What.” He sputtered. Not answering, Leorio took his hand, dragging him down the street. 

So Blanche turned out to be Leorio’s car: A silver four-door car that had clearly seen better days. The car ride had been short, barely 8 minutes with Leorio talking almost the whole time. He dropped him off at the hotel entrance, bid him goodbye, then drove off.

Kurapika doesn’t remember walking to his room, yet there he was inside. He also hadn’t realized that he was opening the wrong suitcase. That was until he saw the file. Adrenaline kicked in. All the weariness he felt was buried under the rage he felt. At the very least, he always remembered this feeling. It was currently his raison d’être.

The file was all the data he had compiled against the ones who murdered his family: The Troupe. And that data summed up to be three low-resolution pictures of different members— some days he could recall those faces better than his own—and notes gathered from various sources. With all that, he was able to track to them to this town.  

Anger had become a familiar and comforting emotion. It filled the hollowness inside him even if temporary. He went into the bathroom. Fingers gripped tightly against the counter as he took a couple deep breaths. He was so much closer to achieving his goals and, at the same time, he was still so far. This lead was as thin and as fragile as a thread. Yet he still followed it here. Because what other choice does one have when their target lived outside of the law’s grasp? When their mere existence was a debate?

Sighing, he left the bathroom. He left the room. He left the hotel. He left whatever sense of humanity he had back there.  

One of them apparently frequented bars. He’d have to start there since he had no information on the others’ proclivities if they had one. And because it was his first night in town, he’d have to canvass around to find one that welcomed his ilk.

There was no time to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all stick around for this ride!  
> I plan for this to be around 15 chapters as of now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurapika thought he would've minimal interactions with his roommate. It's day 1 and it doesn't seem like that'll be the case.

 

Kurapika learned that there were about four bars in town. The two that he visited closed at two and three in the morning. The first one had been near the hotel. He arrived there around nine and stayed for two hours, observing. Everything, down to the drink names, was themed and he chose one of the non-alcoholic ones. The colors were loud and unapologetic, demanding for his eyes to look, look,  _look_  at its walls sharing fun facts about the area and memorabilia. It was the sort of place that was probably supposed to attract tourists. Kurapika wasn’t sure how effective this business strategy was; however, he did know that a place like this probably wouldn't interest those who wanted to lie low.     

In contrast, the second place was a modest space on the corner of some street. The entire atmosphere and decor of it sought to help its patrons relax for the night. It was much more quiet in comparison to the other place but still lively enough as bouts of laughter would cut through the idle chatter and background music. Still... this wasn't the kind of bar he was seeking out. So he stayed for an hour, maybe.

It was hard to recollect exactly how the night had passed after the second bar. Trying to recall was like trying to hold sand on an open palm. It slipped through his fingers. But even then, he had remembered the sensation.  

The sensation of being watched. Followed. Then nothing.

Kurapika was back in his hotel room, still wearing his shoes while in bed and now staring up at the ceiling.

Had he slept?

He didn't know the answer.

He shifted his head to glance at the clock.

07:39.

Kurapika had just enough time to take a shower before heading to Leorio's apartment. He dragged himself out of bed, ambling toward the bathroom. The warm water soothed his aching body if only a little. Kurapika smiled, then sighed. It was strange, he'd admit, to feel so at peace in a state that also made one so vulnerable. But as the water beat down against his skin, sometimes, he remembered the warm embrace of his family. A warmth he could never experience the same way again.

He finished his shower.

It took a short amount of time for him to finish getting ready. He donned white pants and a dark blue tunic. He slung his duffle bag over his shoulder and grabbed his suitcase. Thankfully, he didn't have much to carry during his walk. Kurapika gave the room a final once-over before shutting the door behind him.

Check out took a few minutes so he decided to get some breakfast. It had been included with his reservation. From the assortment of food, he grabbed a plain bagel and poured himself a cup of coffee. Black with three spoons of sugar. At this point, he drank coffee for the taste ever since he built up a caffeine tolerance. And because it was still early, Kurapika could sit wherever he'd like. He chose a table close to the exit. He dipped pieces of his bread in his drink as he planned his next course of action.

There were four more bars he needed to inspect. After that, he'd need to stake it out every night for a chance to see that man. Kurapika wasn't too worried about the time constraints. He had time. Based on the lead he had followed, the Troupe should be here for about a few months until after the antique auction ended. While he didn't know who hired them yet, he did know that they had deep pockets and (most likely) bloody hands as well. Finding out that person's identity also took precedence.

Kurapika downed the rest of his coffee. Leorio had told him he could come over around nine o'clock. According to the giant clock that he could see in the lobby, he had about twenty minutes until that time. He tried to wipe off the crumbs that had fallen onto the table before tossing throwing away his trash.

When he finally left the hotel to head over to Leorio's apartment, he didn't get as lost. The buildings were slightly easier to differentiate in the morning sun compared to the evening.

Leorio answered the door after a few knocks. He's dressed in light green scrubs. He smiled as though Kurapika and he were longtime friends.

"Come in, come in. I'll show you where your room is." He took Kurapika's luggage from his hand unprompted, heading towards said room. Kurapika followed.

"And this is your room," Leorio said, entering to set Kurapika's suitcase down. "And the door across from it is the bathroom. Mine's the last one down the hall."

Kurapika stepped in behind him. It was barren, save for a few pieces of furniture: A queen-size bed in the right corner, two small dressers underneath it, and a desk pushed against the opposite wall.

"I had planned to use to this as a guest room so I bought some stuff for it. But..." Leorio paused. His lips twitched slightly before he guffawed. He came up to Kurapika, wrapping an arm around his shoulder while his other hand made a wide sweep as if the room were on display. "But now it's all yours! We can go shopping sometime to liven up the place."

It was there for a second but Kurapika understood the expression Leorio had made. But what did it matter anyway? It wasn't any of his business. Kurapika shrugged Leorio's arm off, going over to the bed to place his duffle bag on it. "Did you finish that roommate agreement form?" Kurapika said, facing him.

Leorio left the room as he spoke. "Oh yeah. It's over here on the table."

When Kurapika came out, Leorio was seated in the living room, holding the paper. Leorio handed it to him after he sat down. Honestly, he skimmed the page. None of the words stuck in his head but no strange phrases popped out either. So he scribbled down his signature and gave it back to Leorio.

Once again, he heard music playing. Kurapika glanced at the stereo to confirm that it was indeed on. He saw Leorio follow his gaze from the corner of his eye. The man offered him a smile.

"Do you mind? I need to finish getting ready for work and this helps with the routine."

Kurapika shook his head. Leorio, in turn, stood up to go raise the volume a little. Then he walked off to the dining room, kitchen or bedroom. Somewhere else in the apartment. Kurapika wasn't paying attention. Instead, he had let the music wash over him.

It was a different song than last night. It had a piano accompaniment. The vocals were soothing though he couldn't focus enough to know what was actually being sung.

He should have gotten up after Leorio did. He needed to ask for the spare keys. He had to leave and walk around town. There were still some things he could do before resting. He closed his eyes, trying to remember what exactly that was.

 

* * *

 

The first thing he noticed before opening his eyes was a pleasant aroma. He listened to the almost rhythmic clinks and scraping coming from the kitchen. The stereo was no longer playing music. He sat up on the sofa, only then noticing that (1) he had been laying down and (2) that a blanket had been draped over him. He tried to take in his environment as soon as his bleary eyes adjusted to the lighting.

The curtains in the living room had been drawn. From the faint white glow slipping through the cracks, he could only assume it was now night. The clock reaffirmed his suspicions. It was nearing eight. He groaned.

A whole day had been wasted.

He finally looked over to Leorio who was in the kitchen with his back to him.

"Shit!" He heard Leorio yelp.

Suddenly he turned around, catching Kurapika's stare.

"Oh hey. Sorry, did I wake you?" He spoke around the finger in his mouth.

"No, you-" Kurapika cleared his throat. "You didn't."

He got off the sofa, folding the blanket then holding it up. "Thank you for this. Where should I put it?"

Leorio smiled wide. "No problem. You can just leave it on the sofa. Grab a seat. I'm just about finished cooking dinner. I took the liberty of making you some. Do you have any allergies or restrictions? I would've asked before but you were still passed out when I came back home." He sniffed the air. "Oh shit! I forgot to turn off the stove." With that, he spun around to attend the dish.

Kurapika had enough room to reject the offer. It was kind of Leorio but he didn't know how to repay the favor. But it was a very hard offer to deny from what he had smelled. He placed the blanket back down and headed towards the kitchen.

"No for both. Restrictions or allergies, that is." He answered. He felt unsure of what to do next. Kurapika shifted the weight on his foot, standing in between the kitchen and the dining room.

Should he offer assistance?

Leorio didn't give him time to ponder about it. Without looking at Kurapika, he gestured with one hand at the cupboard to the left of him as he continued stirring the pot. "Can you grab two glasses from there. Not much to choose from but there’s juice and water in the fridge. I'll set the plates on the table."

That was when he noticed that Leorio had changed out of his scrubs and slipped into a loose—but still tight enough to accentuate his muscular arms—blue shirt and black track pants. He must have gotten back to the apartment a while ago. Foolishly, it was only now that he made the connection that Leorio was the one who had covered him with the blanket. His cheeks felt hot.  

Anyway, Kurapika wordlessly did as he was asked. He grabbed the glasses and choose a pint of mango juice to bring to the table. They threatened to slip out his grasp when he tried to push the medical books aside with one hand. There wasn't much space even then given the small surface area. As a result, he scooped up the texts and stacked them onto one of the chairs. He took a seat in the chair that faced the kitchen.     

Leorio came in about a minute later balancing a plate in each hand. He set one in front of Kurapika and the other in front of the seat opposite to him. It was yellow rice mixed with vegetables and pan-seared chicken.

Before Leorio sat down, Kurapika asked. "Do you have hot sauce?"

"You didn't even taste it yet."

"It doesn't smell spicy. So do you?"

Leorio huffed and puffed but ultimately he resigned and retrieved it for him. When he returned, he simply lobbed the bottle at him who expertly caught it. Kurapika twisted the cap open and coated the food with a thin layer of hot sauce.  

They ate in silence for about thirty seconds until Leorio with the grace of a newborn deer tried to a start a conversation.

"So tell me about yourself."

Kurapika intentionally chewed slower, thinking of an answer. He wasn't going to lie. However, Leorio didn't need to know his life story either. He swallowed once he settled on an answer. "That's way too broad of a question."

"C'mon throw me a bone here. I'd like to know more about you since we've only met just yesterday." He pleaded then paused.  "Alright, so what brings you to town? I'm assuming you're not from around here."

"You're correct on that assumption." Kurapika searched for a half-truth to add. "I'm here for the antique auction." He knew Leorio question more about it so he diverted the attention away from himself. "So" He recalled the texts he had just placed on the chair. "When did you decide on becoming a, um, doctor?"

Leorio smirked. "Easy. When I saw how much money I could be raking in!"

"Right..."

"Hey don't roll your eyes at me!"  

"Apologies. I wasn't expecting to be you to be so greedy." He blurted out. He had meant to give him a more sanitized answer to have more control over the conversation. But something about Leorio's statement didn't sit well with him. It yanked that reaction out of him.       

"I don't know if you've noticed,  _roomie_ but money's what makes the world go 'round."  

Kurapika scowled. "Society is built on the cooperation and principles of others. That’s what drives us, regardless of if those principles were our own to begin with.”

"Sorry, but ‘principles’ don’t pay the bills. For food, housing, education, or healthcare. All the necessary things for a functioning society.” He clenched his fist, glaring at him. “But you know what does? It's the amount of those green slips of paper attached to our names telling us if our lives are worth a damn."   

Oh.

Kurapika relaxed his body, realizing how tense he was. "I see..." A small smile settled on his lips. He’d deny he was if asked later about it.   

"What? What could you possibly find even mildly funny about this." Irritation laced his words. Evidently, he had misread Kurapika’s smile as mocking rather than understanding. And because of that, Leorio looked as though he were seconds away from punching Kurapika outright.  

However, Kurapika continued speaking. "You."

"What-"

“I’ve misjudged you. What you said wasn’t something someone consumed by materialism and greed would say. You said that it’s money that drove you to become a doctor but I think it was actually your empathy and kindness. After only knowing you for less than a day, I can tell you value human life and chose a profession that best reflected that.”

Leorio squawked, letting whatever rebuttal he had die in his throat. He tore his eyes away from Kurapika’s steady gaze and covered the lower half of his face with his hand. Even then Kurapika saw the telltale sign: Red ears.

While he recollected himself, Kurapika ate his meal. The tension dissolved into a peaceful quiet with an undercurrent of awkwardness. It would have remained that way for the duration of the dinner had Leorio not thought of a new question for this impromptu dinner interview.

“So… what do you do?”

Without missing a beat, he said. “I’m currently unemployed.”

“What did you do before?”

“I used to house sit for some clients who loved to travel.” Said clients were usually involved with nefarious activities which he had used to his advantage over the years.

“And you quit that sweet gig for the antique auction?”

“Yes. I’m looking for something.” Kurapika took a sip of his drink.

Leorio must have realized he wasn’t going to elaborate. “Alright then. You’re quite an oddball but that’s fine, I guess.”

Kurapika quirked an eyebrow. “This is coming from the one who allowed a stranger to move into his home. Knowing only their name and ability to pay for rent.”

“And that’s to your benefit, isn’t it? Clearly, you’re pretty secretive but you don’t read as someone untrustworthy and dangerous.” He shot back. “'Sides the agreement you signed earlier means that I reserve the right to kick you out if you do turn out to be some kind of creep or murderer. So you better be careful, bucko.” He grinned, stroking his chin as if he outfoxed him.

Kurapika laughed. More snorts than an actual laugh. More strangled noises than a continuous sound. It was wholly unintentional but how else could he have responded?

Leorio was different.

He had not met someone like him in a very long time.

Leorio joined him, laughing louder and animatedly.

This time when a lull had settled, Kurapika broke it by asking him about his patient from yesterday. This evolved into Leorio telling him about his day at his clinic. Kurapika listened mostly, asking a question or commenting every now and then. It wasn’t before long that they finished eating.

Leorio placed their plates on top of the growing pile in the sink, then came back over to Kurapika. He stretched his arms. “I have paperwork I need to look over then I’m hittin’ the hay. You got any plans for the night?”

“Yes, actually. Do you have spare keys?”

“Yeah. I put them on the coffee table for you. By the remote control.”

Kurapika stood up, heading over there but not before saying, “Thank you.”

He went to his room to grab his thigh bag. He filled it with the items in his satchel such as money, three knives, a pair of brass knuckles, a set of lock picks, a mini flashlight, and a granola bar. It was an excessive amount of weapons, he knew that. However, after last night he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had followed him. He didn’t know who or why. It might have been a symptom of his fatigue but it also might not have been. And Kurapika would rather be safe than sorry.

He re-entered the living room, Leorio was lounging on the sofa reading the papers in his hands. Kurapika walked over to the door. Just as he was about to touch the doorknob, Leorio said, “Where you heading?”

“A bar.”

“That right? I didn’t take you for the drinking type… But you got a particular place in mind?”

“No. I’m taking a walk before going to one. I’ll probably go to the one that’s closer.”

“Alright. Most of the bars here are pretty good. Here’s a warning though: Steer clear of the one called ‘High Grass’. It’s towards the northwest side of town. Pretty dangerous crowd hangs around there. I think mafia runs it and they’re very good at keeping and exaggerating tabs.”

Kurapika nodded. “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”

He knew exactly where he needed to go.

“Goodnight!”

“Good night.”

The door clicked shut behind him.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! This was going to be longer but this part seemed like a natural stopping point so i went with it :9  
> Lemme know what u think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A blond walks into the bar and something happens.  
> A blond walks into the bar and nothing happens.

 

As one of the last shops before the road led towards the mountain reserve trail, High Grass was a welcoming and well-lit space sitting in its own lot. It wasn't a high-class bar by any means. The bronze coffered ceilings and the attire of the bar staff were what differentiated it from a typical dive bar.

Tonight, it was busy. Most of the seats at the counter had been taken up; their eyes were trained on the television playing some hockey game. The next popular area seemed to be around the pool table and dart boards. Kurapika ordered one of their non-alcoholic cocktails. A St. Clement. If he had a choice then he would have forgone drinking altogether. However, in doing that, he would have stuck out to at least a couple of the patrons and staff.  

He sat at one of the many small wooden tables lined against the wall. Specifically, he chose a seat that gave him the best vantage point of the room. Anything and everything was subjected to his scrutiny. Ever since he had walked in some had tried to subtly watch him. Kurapika pretended not to notice. If they had a problem with him then they could and say it to his face.   

No one did.

So he continued his observation, flickering his attention to the tv mounted up on the wall behind the counter when necessary as to not arouse suspicion. It was towards closing time and his third drink when Kurapika figured that person might not be coming tonight. Few people were left besides him and the bartender. The last call for drinks had been about an hour ago.

They might have stopped by between the time of the bar opening and before Kurapika getting there. He bit the inside of his cheek. He knew there was also no guarantee that they would come to this bar at all. There were others to choose from and Kurapika didn't even know where their base of operations was. They might have gone somewhere closer to their base.

Tracking the Troupe to this town had been a thin fragile thread of hope. This... This was less than that. The chances of them choosing this bar and appearing whilst Kurapika was there was as scarce as hen's teeth. Nevertheless, Kurapika knew in his gut that this was the place to be. He would encounter that person here. He'd come back tomorrow and try again. And keep coming until they finally met.

Kurapika peeled himself off his seat, grimacing as he felt and heard his some joints crack. It would be to his benefit to rest for a few hours. Then, he could come back when the bar opened again at 6 pm. And since it was 5:15 in the morning, according to the clock near the tv, and the closest open store was too far to walk, Kurapika made his trek back to Leorio's apartment.

Leorio's place was on the northeast side of town, meaning his return would be awhile. Normally, the distance wouldn't have been an issue for him. It still wasn’t. The real problem therein lied with the fact that he was being followed.

Maybe.

It was certainly possible that a stranger was going in the same direction as him and, from the sounds of it, has maintained an even distance between them for the last 15 mins. So there was no need to look behind him then. His instincts told him otherwise especially when those light footsteps started getting closer.

Adrenaline filled his veins. His hands curled into a half fist. He stopped walking. The other person did too. And then. Suddenly, they were moving. Kurapika whipped around, prepared to strike.

An empty street stared back at him.

Whoever it was must have vanished into the alleyway. His heart rate began to slow. The tension in his shoulder dissipated but never enough that he fully relaxed. For one fleeting moment, he thought he was being haunted. He shook his head. The expression on his face indiscernible. He resumed his walk, alone for the rest of the way.

Leorio was curled up, asleep on the sofa; his body illuminated by the tv. For someone as tall as he was, he should've known better than to sleep there. Kurapika picked up the blanket from the armrest and covered him. And he would have turned off the tv too, but he needed the light as a guide while he went to his room.

Kurapika was much too tired to care that the bed didn't have sheets. He didn't bother to disrobe. Those were issues to worry about when he woke up again and stores were open. He laid his head on the bare pillow, closing his eyes. Hopefully, he'd be able to get in an hour or two.

Unfortunately, he slept for much longer than that. Six hours. It was almost noon. It wasn't that much of an inconvenience this time since he hadn't much planned for the day. Kurapika rolled off the bed, stretching. One he was more alert, he dug through his suitcase for clothes and the toiletries he had brought. He left to go inside the bathroom.

It was more furnished than the bedroom had been. Kurapika was thankful that. He set his stuff down on the counter. It didn't take much time to clean himself. He had decided to take a cold shower to avoid the possibility of standing in there for an indefinite time. He threw on his outfit which was composed of a black long sleeve shirt, white pants, and matching shoes.

He took his dirty clothes to his room and left them on the bed, making a mental note to add laundry hamper to the list of things he'd need. Kurapika decided to go with his satchel and switched the contents of his thigh bag over.

When he finally left his room, Kurapika saw Leorio in the kitchen. He wore a colorfully patterned dress shirt with slacks and was currently fascinated with the lacks of contents in the refrigerator. Part of Kurapika wanted to walk by and go out the door. He stopped instead, standing by the counter, watching Leorio. "Good morning," he said.

Leorio turned. "Mornin'!" He closed the refrigerator door and faced him. "I'm going on a grocery run soon. You wanna come with?"

Kurapika tightened his lips, trying not to smile. Leorio had a penchant for conveniently appearing whenever Kurapika needed something so far. "Sure," he said. It was the more logical choice: He could buy more things plus Leorio was probably more knowledge about which stores were preferable.

 

* * *

 

"Kurapika. Are you gonna add anything?"

"No."

They were standing in the produce section. Leorio had been placing various fruits and vegetables in the cart when he noticed Kurapika hadn't done the same since they entered that section.

"When was the last time you ate something green and leafy? Or any fruit? Just curious."

The person in question frowned. It has been a while but he wasn't going to admit that.  Instead, he replied, "We may be sharing a cart but I don't have to listen to your dietary advice."

"So not recently then." Leorio sighed. "Why don't you add some fruit, or a fruit salad even, to start off? No prep required." He was hinting at the fact that Kurapika's side of the cart was filled with canned and frozen meals as well as other non-perishable items.

"No."

"Most people know better than to ignore a doctor's advice."

"Well, you're not my doctor. So I'm free to ignore you all I want."

"You could effectively get me off your case if you started eating some apples. 'Cause you know 'an apple day' and all." Leorio winked.

Kurapika rolled his eyes, just a hint of a smile on his face.

It wasn't that he didn't like vegetables or fruits. They were perishable and cooking was a time-consuming endeavor. He was often too busy to bother with it when he could simply heat up a pre-cooked meal. Though, the days he wasn't busy were also usually the same ones where it was a struggle to muster up the energy to do it. To do anything. So then they'd rot. He and the food festering.

Kurapika relented this time. "Fine," he said. He was in that rare mood to cook something. He walked up down the aisle grabbing various ingredients and then two apples.

Leorio raised his hand to Kurapika’s eye level, hoping for a high five which Kurapika blatantly ignored and walked past him to place his items on his side of the cart. Kurapika smirked when he heard Leorio's short whine and grumble.

It wasn't long after that that they finished shopping. Kurapika had his sheets and groceries for the time being so he was relatively content. Leorio had offered to take him somewhere to buy additional things to decorate the room. He declined, however. All he wanted to do was get back to the apartment, cook, and then leave. It must have been around 2 pm. He had about 4 hours until opening.

The drive back to the apartment was alright, pleasant even. A comfortable and somewhat awkward silence settled between them for the short drive, only interrupted by Leorio humming along to the song playing on the radio. Because neither of them wanted to make multiple trips, they took everything at once and hauled up them up to Leorio's apartment.

Leorio was putting away the last of his groceries when Kurapika called him.

"Leorio."

"Uh yes." He spun around, straightening his back. "Why are you saying my name like I'm in trouble?"

"You're not." Kurapika felt the corner of his lip quirk up. "I only wanted to know if you were hungry. I wanted to repay the favor from last night."

He tilted his head, frowning slightly. "I didn't make you dinner expecting for you to owe me or anything."

"I suspected as much. However, allow me to make it anyway." Leorio had been kind and helpful to him when he didn't need to be, beyond allowing him to take up residence in that spare bedroom. Kurapika was appreciative of his actions and wanted to express his gratitude without saying it forthright.

Kurapika then proceeded to shoo Leorio out of the kitchen. He stared at the vegetables and meat on the counter. He started slowly, chopping the vegetables first as he tried to recall what to do next. It had been a while since he last cooked this soup. He should probably cook it more often if he didn't want to forget it completely someday... It took a few false starts before Kurapika fell into a rhythm hovering around the stove and counter, tasting and stirring.    

It was after Leorio had whined for the third time 'is the food done yet? It smells so good' and Kurapika found where the bowls were stored that he finished preparing. He poured a generous amount into each bowl then placed them on the dining room table. Then he did the same with their drinks.    

"Food's ready."

Leorio scrambled off the couch. "Finally!"

Kurapika waited with bated breath as he took the first taste.

"This is really delicious! Where’d you learn to make this?" He stuffed another spoonful into his mouth.  
  
"Thank you. It's my mother's recipe."  
  
It was a poor imitation of his mother's cooking. Still, it was one of the few dishes he knew how to make.  
  
"She must be very good. Give my compliments to chef Kurapika's mom." Leorio wore an easy smile on his face.  
  
"She's..."  Kurapika paused. His throat felt dry even after he drank from his glass of water. He dragged out the next words. "She's dead."  
  
He tried to quell the rumbling emotions in his heart. He was so focused on calming down that he almost didn't hear Leorio speak.  
  
"Oh... I understand. It's tough when you lose someone you care about. Makes you really appreciate the ones you have left." Leorio sounded distant when he spoke the last part.  
  
Kurapika's skin prickled. It was getting harder to suppress the surge of rage and despair. "I have no one left." A ghost of a whisper, he was unsure he actually said anything.  
  
"No one?"  
  
His shoulders shook. He gripped the glass tightly.  
  
Something about the look in Leorio's eyes... It was too much. He wanted him to stop. To go away and leave him alone and let him be consumed by this anguish. Kurapika couldn't keep it in anymore. He erupted.  
  
"My entire family was murdered." Not an exclamation. Only a cold and familiar statement.  
  
His hand felt hot and wet. He looked down to see the thin red rivulets. And that's when he felt a searing pain. His mind blank, he kept staring at it.  
  
"Kurapika... take deep breaths okay. Keep your hand open and wait right here." Short of running, he left the room. Kurapika nodded numbly in his wake.  
  
Leorio returned with a first aid kit, towel, and broom in hand. He placed the kit and towel down. He made quick work to clean up the glass off the table and ground.    
  
"I'm gonna check your hand to make sure there's no pieces of glass in the cuts. Then you'll apply some pressure. After that, we can clean and dress the wound, if there's no need for stitches." He spoke slowly as if he were speaking to a child. Kurapika couldn't find it in him to chastise him for it. He followed his instructions. Leorio was silent for the most part as he worked. His movements were precise and as gentle as possible.  
  
When Leorio finished applying the bandages to his hand, Kurapika finally spoke again. "It happened six years ago. We were gathered at my home for a kurta celebration. We lived in a rural area, not too far from the town. We were missing some stuff so I volunteered to ride my bike down to the store and get them. I got sidetracked. It was like a little adventure, going around town, visiting stores. I didn't think that they were..."  
  
"You don't have to push yourself to finish." His voice was careful and kind like his hands had been.  
  
Kurapika ignored him, continuing. "I didn't know what was happening. If I had gotten back sooner then I could have done something. Maybe one of them could have survived if I had come sooner." Maybe he could have just died with them. He took a deep breath. "The report said the motivation was robbery. The thieves took our family heirloom..." His hands trembled in his lap. "But if it was just a robbery then why kill them? Why kill them like that? So inhumanly?" His voice cracked at the end. Kurapika slouched forward, covering his face with his hands. He almost didn't care if Leorio thought he was crying.

He felt Leorio place a hesitant hand on his shoulder. The heat of it seeped through his shirt. In turn, that part of his body felt warm, too warm. Kurapika stopped himself from recoiling.

"I'm sorry you experienced such a tragedy." Leorio started. "Did they catch the bastards that did it?"

He lifted his head up. "No. It's a cold case." The investigation had barely lasted half a year before Kurapika became an unwelcome presence at the police station. They couldn't identify a suspect or suspects, in this case, nor did they want to pursue it any further. What happened to people like him wasn’t their greatest concern.

"They'll get what's coming to them." Leorio furrowed his brow. "What you said about them taking your family heirloom... Is that why you're here?" He removed his hand from Kurapika's shoulder. "The auction. You think it's gonna be there?"

"Yes. I've spent years tracking their locations down. There's a high chance that they will be there." He only then noticed he had been fiddling with his earring while speaking.

"And you're going to buy them back?"

"If that's what it takes, yes."

"Alright. As your friend, I'll support you in any way that I can."

Kurapika wasn't sure how to respond to that. He blinked.

Leorio tried to backpedal. "I mean! I know we haven't known each other long. And being roommates doesn't equate to friendship. But from the time we've spent together, I've come to see you as a friend." His tawny brown skin rouged as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Kurapika's face was a bit flushed as well. However, he managed to reply calm. "Yes. I suppose we are that. Friends."

A beat went by before Leorio suggested they put away the rest of the soup since it seemed like neither one of them had much of an appetite anymore. They cleaned up while making light conversation, carefully avoiding the previous topic. Afterwards, Leorio plopped himself down on the sofa, flicking on the tv with the remote. "I hope there's some good movies playing right now."  

Kurapika went by the door. "I'm heading out for the night. I'll see you tomorrow." He didn't wait for Leorio's response. He merely left. He desperately wanted some space though he couldn't articulate why. Luckily for him, it was time to go to the bar anyway.

 

* * *

 

The next few days followed a similar pattern: He'd go and wait for his target to appear. They didn't. He'd go home and sleep.

The third day Kurapika headed to the bar, he brought a notepad with him, scribbling down information about prominent historical figures during the 14th century. He figured he wouldn't be able to completely get away with sitting and drinking non-alcoholic drinks alone for the whole night without drawing some attention to himself. At least this way, he had an excuse to give, in case anyone dared to ask. No one bothered him though. As for the person he had hoped to make an appearance?

They didn't come that night.

The sixth day while Leorio was at work, Kurapika caved and washed the dishes. The pile had spilled onto the counter since both parts of the sink were already filled. He couldn't take it anymore. Leorio came home right as he finished drying the last dish.

"Oh man, did you wash all of them? If you waited 'till I got here I would have helped." Leorio scratched the tip of his nose.

"If I had waited then there would have been more dishes." Kurapika snapped.

Leorio scoffed. "At least I know where the dirty dishes go. Who's the one that had to do the walk of shame with their dirty cups two days ago?"

Kurapika didn't deign to give him an answer. He crossed his arms instead, pouting slightly. Leorio laughed, pointing at him. “The pot calling the kettle black, I see!”

Whether or not he snorted at the accusation didn’t matter. Leorio should have washed the dishes days ago.   

When Kurapika left to go to the bar, he had hoped things would be different. But it wasn’t.

They didn't come that night.

The seventh night, he noticed they'd just put up a beaten up hiring sign on one of the window sills. Kurapika sat at the counter this time. Right after he ordered his usual drink, the bartender struck up a conversation with him.

"You sure seem to fancy this place..." He trailed off, waiting for Kurapika to answer his unspoken question. He handed Kurapika's drink to him. He had already been in the process of making it the second Kurapika sat down.

"I was told about this place." Kurapika took a sip of his drink. "It's quite atmospheric." It wasn't a lie per se. Having seen two bar fights end with being thrown out the window and that very same window being replaced by the next day did cement the mood of this bar.

"Right..." The man didn't look like he bought it. Kurapika didn't care too much.

"I see you're hiring."

"Yup."

"I'd like to apply if you have a position for a barback open," he said. It'd give him better opportunities to move around the place and get close enough to listen in on conversations with relative ease. More importantly, it might change his current luck with his stakeout.

"Cool. You're hired." The man began wiping down the part of the counter Kurapika wasn't occupying.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're hired. Can you start this coming Monday? We'll provide you the uniform. Just get slip resistant shoes by then."

Kurapika blinked twice. "I will." That gave him three days.

As odd as that encounter with the bartender was, his night still ended the same.

They didn't come that night.

The next night when he was approached by another patron. It was around 8. The bar was relatively empty other from what Kurapika could see from his usual spot. The man before him had shaggy black hair and a smile that didn't reach his downturned eyes.

"Greetings. Would you care to play a game of Othello with me?" He held up the box in his hand. "My usual playmate doesn't seem to be in yet." He spoke slowly as though he were carefully selecting his words.  

Quite honestly Kurapika wanted to deny him outright. However, it would have been too awkward to reject him which normally wouldn’t bother except he wanted to appear inconspicuous. Rejecting him might have drawn some curious eyes. Plus this was his first chance to interact with another customer naturally. If he behaved accordingly, Kurapika could possibly glean some useful information.

"Okay."

The man sat down in the seat across to him. He pulled the board out from the box and set up the game pieces. "Have you ever played?"

"Yes. Which one do you want to be? White or Black?"

"White or black..." He repeated, staring pieces longer than necessary. "You can decide on that. And by the way, my name is Chrollo. What's yours?"

"Sorry but I'm not in the habit of sharing my name with strangers. I'll go with black."

Chrollo’s mouth twitched. There was a hint of mirth in his ink black eyes. "Fair enough."

Kurapika went first. He placed a black disc underneath of his. Chrollo put his disc in the square next to his. The game proceeded slowly at first. Both of them had flipped a few discs and two of the corners had been taken. Admittedly, Kurapika hadn't played Othello often, save for a few occasions when he was a teenager. However, he was able to keep up with Chrollo's apparent skill just barely.

Without looking up from the board, Chrollo said, "This game is named after the man who, consumed by jealousy, killed his wife. Jealousy. It’s such a dark possessive desire. And the things it drives us to do. Or should I say what possessiveness, in general, drives us to do. Such emotion truly is the core of humanity, don't you think?"  

"Humans are not intrinsically possessive or dark, if that's what you're getting at." Kurapika frowned. He had three potential squares to place his disc in. He chose to put it on one of the remaining edge squares.   

"Is that so? It seems as though the desire to possess things, whether literally or abstractly, is what has propelled humanity thus far. It's the only thing I can see that differentiates us from other animals." He placed a disc down in the top right corner, effectively flipping quite a few of Kurapika's discs.

Kurapika kept his eyes on the board, thinking about where to place his next disc as well as a response. He set his piece in a square that only turned one of Chrollo’s. "Such perspectives come from a place of fantasy that tries to absolve someone of their community responsibility. Humans generally are much kinder than that. It is a minority of people who only care for themselves and try to convince others that that mindset's normal."

"Oh, really?" Chrollo pursed his lips like he was actually pondering Kurapika's reply. "Fascinating..." He set his piece down, laying claim to more of Kurapika's pieces.

Kurapika didn't respond. He set his disc down, claiming the last corner. Many of Chrollo’s discs flipped.   

“If humanity is not defined by its propensity for evil for the sake of gain and possession. Then what are we? What differentiates us from animals then?”

“Does it matter?” Kurapika glanced at him before returning his eye back on the board.

“What?”

“Who cares what differentiates us. And what use is that question when what you should be asking is ‘who am I and what am I doing?’ That’s what motivates us.”

Chrollo was quiet, an empty smile weighing down his lips. He had no available moves left. Kurapika put his final disc down. The game ended with 34-30 in Kurapika's favor.

“Well, that was a fun game. Thank you for indulging me. It looks like he’s not going to show up. But if we can play again next time, we could be more than strangers and I can possess my opponent’s name.” Chrollo extended his hand. Kurapika gave it a brief shake, unintentionally noting how cold they were. He hoped that there wouldn’t be a next time.

Suddenly, Chrollo dropped Kurapika's hand and took a step back. A dart whizzed by his face. Kurapika had only a moment to react. There was another one coming towards him. He had fewer options as to where to dodge. So he caught it in his fist, feeling the tip of it pierce his thumb.

Kurapika pulled it out and placed it on the table. His thumb wasn't bleeding much as it had not been a deep puncture, thankful. Still, he took a napkin out from the dispenser and pinched it between his thumb and index finger to stint what was coming out.

A man with scorching red hair came up to their table. His vulpine grin seemed almost natural. "Oh, I am so sorry. My hands slipped while aiming." he took the dart off the table and wiped the blood on one of his pant legs.

"Twice?" Kurapika gave him a blank look.

"It happens." His expression remained unchanged.

He turned his attention to the other man also watching him. "Hey Chrollo, why don't you play with me? I can get you even more riled up and excited."

"Alright. Name the game."

"How about pool? I'm sure you'll be impressed with my strokes."

Kurapika decided that this very moment was the perfect time to leave to go wash his hands. He didn't bother to excuse himself while the two men were occupied with one another. He entered the single stall bathroom located near his seat.

As he washed his hands, an image of Leorio scolding him for hurting his hand again but ultimately bandaging it flashed through his head. Kurapika snickered at the thought. Leorio was probably getting ready to watch a movie and sleep around this time. Though, tomorrow was his day off so he might have still been wide awake.   

He remained in the bathroom longer than he needed, hoping the two men had left his table by now. He took the extra time to splash some water in his face before heading out. Just as he wished, Chrollo and the other strange man were no one where to be seen. Kurapika sat back down and remained unbothered for the rest of the night. His nails dug into the soft tissue of his palm as he clenched his fist tighter and tighter.

Of course, they didn’t come tonight either.

Another night of no results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used to wonder how can writers write so much for a chapter.....but now I get it.... Maybe I can get the plot moving next chapter! This was getting too long adfnjfnsj  
> Comments and kudos are very appreciated!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If a tree falls in a forest and no one's around to hear it, does anyone hear it?  
> If you fall in love and never notice, did you actually fall?

 

As usual, Kurapika returned to the apartment just as the morning sun started to rise. He had expected Leorio to be asleep yet when he stepped into the living room he saw how wrong he was. Leorio was apparently doing push-ups in the middle of the room.

Leorio had stopped once Kurapika shut the door behind him. He stood up and closed the distance between them in a couple long strides. "Kurapika, I'm gonna hug you and if you don't want that you better move!"

Kurapika didn't. He wasn't sure and didn't want to think about why he hadn't. Instead, he focused on not tensing up as Leorio arms enveloped him and pressed his head against his chest. Kurapika wasn't sure what to do with his arms so they hung limply by his sides. All of his senses were preoccupied with some aspect of Leorio. His heartbeat was steady; he must have just started exercising right when Kurapika came back. He smelled like a mix of cologne and sweat, though the ratio was probably something like 60-sweat:40-cologne. He was running a little hot and squeezing Kurapika just a bit too tight. It was hard to think of anything but Leorio at that moment. Strangely enough, he found he didn’t mind that much.   

"You smell."

"Obviously not that bad though. I gave you plenty of time to avoid this stink. So no need to act like a sourpuss about it." Leorio released him but not before ruffling his hair. Kurapika tried not to visibly react, save for scowling. He also noticed something else.

"Have you been drinking?"

"Yes, but I'm not drunk. Just a bit tipsy at best. I needed to take the edge off."

"For what? Did something happen?" Kurapika glanced around the room for a possible clue. Robbery? Had he been attacked?

"Whoa, you have a very intense look in your eyes. Everything's fine!" Leorio held up his hands. "I drank a little because I was worried about you."

"Me?" Kurapika blinked. “You were worried about me?”

"Yeah, I was watching the news after you left. They said that is probably serial killer loose after they linked another recent murder to them... You're always out so late and I don't even know where you go each time. Not that I need to know! You're your own autonomous person!" Leorio cleared his throat, running his fingers through his ungelled hair. "Because I don't know where you are, I couldn't contact you. All I could do was wait and then I thought what if- what if something happened to you? Couldn't sleep much after that. Had a drink or two to just chill out. But then I was getting sleepy so I did some push ups to keep awake. Shouldn't ruin my sleep schedule even more."

"Leorio-"

"I know. I know you're going to say that I shouldn't have stayed up waiting for you and that you can take care of yourself against a threat. I care about your well-being anyway."

Kurapika pursed his lips. He was going to say something along those lines. He had to settle for something else. "I'm here now and I'm okay."

Leorio smiled wide. "Yeah, you are."

Kurapika looked away towards the living room to momentary avoid his bright brown eyes.

"Are those your clothes on the couch and floor."

"I'm an adult in my own space, I can change wherever I please."

"You can also pick up after yourself like an adult."

"I was going to. After I finished my pushups."

"Why were you even taking your clothes off in here?"

"I don't have to-" Leorio's stomach suddenly growled. He looked down at it as if it had spoken to him. His gaze returned to Kurapika. "You wanna grab breakfast at the diner? I know you just got here but I'm so hungry."

"Sure. But you're paying." He felt the corner of his lips tug upwards.

"What? Why do I have to pay?"

Kurapika only shrugged

"I am definitely not paying," he said. "Anyway let me go get changed.”  Leorio raced to his room. Kurapika went inside the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water while he waited. He had thought Leorio was going to take a few minutes but quickly realized how wrong he was. Twenty minutes had already passed. By then Kurapika was sitting on the couch, watching tv. For a brief moment, he thought about changing his clothes. However, his current attire wasn't dirty so ultimately he decided against it.

“Arlight, I’m good to go!” Leorio reappeared, fully dressed after forty-five minutes. He wore a striped button up with the first two buttons undone and dark slacks. “You ready to rock and roll?” He strode across the room to the door.

“Yeah, yeah” Kurapika stood and went over to him.

Leorio opened the door, then bowed and gestured with his other arm. “Ahem, after you.”

Kurapika rolled his eyes before walking through. “After all that waiting, I think I should most definitely be compensated.”

“Um, I am most definitely not paying for your meal!”

 

The diner had been within walking distance. /Olly's Diner/  it was called from what he read from the window decal. It was small, housing about 11 seats at the counter and 10 booths. Their server was friendly, even laughing at Leorio's cheesy jokes while they were ordering. They sat at the booth furthest away from the entrance. Leorio had his back to the door while he faced it. The food was delicious; though, Leorio claimed that Kurapika wouldn't know since he "practically inhaled" his omelet. But of course, someone who decided to eat his chicken and waffles at a tortoise's pace would say that.

Even after Leorio finally finished his meal and paid—Kurapika's included funnily enough—they remained seated for quite some time. Each topic they spoke about rooted them to the plush red cushions. There were almost no lulls in the conversation. No place where it felt right to end their little breakfast chatter. But it wasn't like they were looking for one either, at least Kurapika wasn't. So they kept talking and talking.

Leorio was fascinated by any tangent Kurapika fell into from architecture and semiotics to explanations and interpretations of his favorite myths. Leorio nodded along, asking questions and commenting. Kurapika did the same for him whenever he spoke about his favorite films. The actors' names went over his head and he hadn't seen most of them either. Still, Kurapika was interested in hearing his thoughts. Leorio spoke with his entire body. Each movement demanded Kurapika's attention to what was being said.

"Wait so you're telling me you've never seen it?" He hunched forward, cocking an eyebrow. "They run it on tv like once a year."

"I was preoccupied and movies aren't that high on my list of priorities."

He leaned back and placed his hand over his heart. "Well don't you worry. Dr. Paladiknight had just the remedy for this. We'll rent the movie and watch it together someday."

Kurapika made a noncommittal grunt.

The conversation eventually shifted to how Leorio was particularly excited about assisting in coaching the junior league soccer team in the upcoming weeks for the second year in a row. He was also happy about the new equipment his clinic was receiving soon.

Oh, that reminds me! They gave our staff a pair of tickets each for the fair in the city over. It's less than an hour's drive, depending on traffic. You wanna go today and be my plus one?" After a beat passed, he coughed into his fist. "I mean that is if you're free today. I know I'm suddenly springing this on you but I just remembered that I had them. And um, we can go another day if you were interested..."

Kurapika hummed, tapping on his chin and closing his eyes. It was more to indicate to Leorio that he was thinking about the offer.

'No I can't,' should have been his immediate response. Kurapika had more important matters to attend to. He shouldn't give in to such distractions even if he wanted to go. The shoes still needed to be bought. He needed to start searching around for any other hint of the Troupe's presence in town. It's almost been a month. He wasn't doing enough. He had to work harder. He had to do better.

He exhaled.

Still, a 'no' hadn't passed through his lips. He wanted to go. Would one day of indulgence truly ruin him and his plans? He had more self-discipline than that. And even if he hypothetically missed an opportunity by not looking today, Kurapika would find another way. Perseverance was a part of his very essence. So just this once... He'd agree and give in to his whims because he'd probably never get the chance again and he had made peace with that.

He opened his eyes and was met with the sight of Leorio's head facing the window yet peeking at him from the corner of his eyes. He turned, trying to keep a neutral expression.

"So what's the verdict?"

"Yes. We can go today," he said.

Leorio whooped. "Get ready to get your butt handed to you when I beat you at every game, especially whack-a-mole!" His laugh was infectious so Kurapika was helpless but to laugh alongside him.

"So when are we going?" Kurapika asked once their laughter died down.

"We can go after this? I don't want to say out too late since I have work tomorrow."

'That's fine with me. I start work tomorrow too."

"Oh really? What kinda job did you get?"

They carried this conversation out the diner and into Leorio's car, Blanche. They reached the fairgrounds after forty minutes and Kurapika was in awe once he saw it up close. He had been under the assumption that it would have been small like the one he had attended when he was a child. He was glad he was wrong.

Leorio presented their tickets to the person in the ticket window, they received a map and their admissions bracelets as well as two for unlimited rides.

"Alright so..." Leorio opened the map. "Where should we hit first?"

A childlike excitement bubbled within Kurapika. His eyes bounced from attraction to attraction. "We should ride the attractions as a circuit starting from here then move to the next interesting one since wait time isn't an issue right now but will be later. We play the games and see the other stuff afterwards."

"That's actually a good idea."

"Of course it is," he said.  "Let's start with this one " Kurapika pointed at the pendulum ride.

They rode two roller coasters, a water ride, the Round Up, the Power Surge, The Teacups, and a few more others. Most of them had ranged from excellent to okay. The worst experience so far had been after they had finished eating their giant turkey legs for lunch. It could only be properly summarized by the following:

Leorio had pointed at the ride in across from them. "Up next! The Drop Tower!"

"We should probably avoid that for the time being," Kurapika said."Considering that we ate not too long ago.

He grinned, a playful glint in his eyes. "Are you sure that's it, Piks? Because all I'm hearing is that someone's a big chicken." He made clucking noises and used his arms to imitate wings.

"I'm not scared!" He didn't comment on the silly nickname but he would address it later.

"Then prove it coward!"

Kurapika knew better than to fall for his childish taunt, really he did. But he had ridden it with Leorio anyway. As expected, once they had gotten off, they draped themselves across one of the benches to recover from their inevitable nausea.

Still even that experience was a happy memory.

Kurapika didn't ride the last ride, only observed a "true master" get on it. The mechanical bull had seen better days and yet they were both enticed by its wild and jerky movements. Leorio had been able to cling on it for the entire duration. But then, he asked the operator to "crank it up." The sound he made when he was almost immediately flung off the machine was enough was enough to make Kurapika double over, gasping for air. Leorio hadn't found it as humorous.

So he bought him a funnel cake and ice cream as a peace offering which he more than happily accepted. Leorio got a few bites in before two children collided into him. Food and dirt now smeared and stained his clothes while he sat on the ground, momentarily dumbfounded. He stood as the children scrambled to get up. After confirming that they were okay, Leorio chided them then advised them to be more careful. The two shook their heads then ran off. Leorio sighed.

Once it was determined that no amount of scrubbing—using only bottled water—would get the stains out, Leorio begrudgingly purchased a t-shirt. There were no plain ones so he chose the least embarrassing one. It read "Pie, Pie Baby."

Leorio faced him. There was enough space between them that Kurapika didn't have to lift his head to see his face. His lips curved downward slightly. His eyes were hidden behind his tinted glasses.

"Kurapika.”

"Yes?"

"It's whacking time." Offering no time for him to respond, Leorio walked away, Kurapika followed.

"What are you talking about?”

"You'll see."

 

Leorio had led him to one of the pavilions toward the front of the fairgrounds. Inside it was dimly lit, illuminated mostly by neon lights and bright game screens. The walls were lined with arcade games. The middle had a more kinetic variety such as air hockey and an interactive dance game. Leorio walked towards the center of the room and Kurapika desperately wished he wasn't going to stop at the dancing one. He sighed as they continued past it and instead stopped by one of the games along the wall. The Whack-A-Mole one. Leorio motioned for him to take a step back. "Alright. Loser has to wash the dishes for the rest of the month," he said, removing the hammer from its hook.

"Fine but don't complain when your hands keep getting wrinkled and pruney," Kurapika smirked.

Leorio glanced back at him and grinned. "Well, that's one way to comfort yourself about your impending loss."

They agreed to play best two out of three, taking turns one after the other. Kurapika won the first round by 5 points. Leorio, tenacious as he was, then defeated him by 3 points the second time.

It was the final match, Kurapika's turn. He needed to beat 87. Washing the dishes wasn't that much of a hassle but having to hear Leorio refer to himself as the "Mole Whacking King" or any other iteration of it would be insufferable. The whir started before the cartoonish music blared out. The moles rose at varying frequencies. One. Then two. Then three. Two. Three. And so on. He struck each one with a quick blow. Two. One. One. Two. One. Three. Zero. The small screen flashed 90. He won.

"Yes!" Kurapika smiled wide, dropping the hammer. He spun around, light on his feet and giddy. Leorio pouted and crossed his arms. "I must not be on my A-game today," he said.

"Sure that's definitely it."

"You..." He struggled to maintain his frown in the presence of Kurapika's euphoria. His upturned after a few more seconds. "Alright, fine. I'll admit it. You're good. I was no match against someone as skilled as you. Woe is me." He clutched his chest while his other arm covered his eyes. "Now come with me. I've got a great idea." Leorio took him by the hand and dragged him outside. He didn't let go of Kurapika yet.

"So what's this supposed great idea you have?" He asked.

"Let's play some games and win a bunch of plush animals. I want to add them to our free station in the clinic. Patients could take one if they wanted." Warm fingers pressed into Kurapika's palm and wrist. He probably didn't realize he had done it.

Kurapika nodded in agreement. "That's very thoughtful of you. Those kinds of things can give comfort to children when they feel alone."

"They're not just for kids but adults too. Adults need comfort too after all..." There was an odd look in his eyes but Leorio didn't give Kurapika any time to identify it. He pushed the conversation along. "Do you know how these games work?"

"No, but the operators will explain it to me, won’t they?"

"Yeah here's the thing... A lotta of these games are rigged. Not impossible to win but much harder. I know the tricks for most of them though. I'm gonna share a couple of them with you before you go up there."

"Alright."

Thus for the next hour, Leorio and he walked around, playing the games they passed. Leorio would tell him the trick to win for two games before he approached the booth. Then Leorio would go off to play a game on his own. Kurapika heeded his advice and won on his second or third try. Afterwards, he’d pick a random plush toy from the shelf. They followed a pattern like that until they couldn’t carry any more of the prizes in their arms anymore. That was their cue to head back to the car.

They carefully navigated their way among, against, and around the influx of people arriving to the fair until they reached Blanche. Leorio placed the stuffed animals in the back of the car, using and fastening all three of the seatbelts to secure them in place. It was a bit ridiculous (and endearing). Then Leorio slung his soiled shirt over the driver’s seat but he didn’t sit inside. Instead, he closed the door and leaned against the car. Kurapika stood by the passenger’s side, unsure of what they were waiting for. He opened his mouth to ask but the man beat him to it.

“Hey” Leorio was looking at him. “If you’re not tired yet, let’s go back in there. There’s still two more things I’d like to do.”

“Is one of them riding the bull on expert again?” He teased.

“No!” He slapped the roof of his car. “I wanna play one more game and then we ride the Ferris wheel.”

Why the Ferris wheel?” It wasn’t that odd of a request per se, Kurapika was merely curious.

“Because it’ll be so romantic and-”

“What!” His cheeks heated.

“Kidding. I’m kidding. The view is very nice from up top there and I wanted to see it and share that sight with you.”

“Oh. Okay.” A tendril of disappointment knotted in his throat. He ignored it. “Let’s go play that game of yours then.”

Said game turned out to be one of those strongman ones. The instructions were simple enough. Get the puck to hit the bell at the top and win a prize. Leorio took the hammer from the operator. He rolled his shoulders in preparation and squeezed the handle. His short sleeves left his arms unrestricted. Kurapika’s eyes traced the muscles as he flexed. It was easy to forget about his toned muscular physique when he wore his usual attire…

Leorio raised his hammer with one inhale. He slammed it down in his exhale and hit the pad dead center. The bell made a resounding ‘ding,; The mildly surprised operator then told him to get his prize. Leorio chose the medium-sized plush dolphin. He promptly handed it to Kurapika. “This is for you.”

“Why are you giving me this?”

“Think of it as a memento of today.” He rubbed the back of his neck and offered him a shy smile. “And like I said before, adults need comfort too.”

He was at a loss for words. Insoluble emotions sloshed around in his heart as he stood there, clutching the plush. “Thank you” wasn’t enough but it’s what he finally managed to say. It’s the least he could say to Leorio for his kindness, for being his friend. For now, he bottled up his clashing feelings, wishing for his fast-beating heart to slow down.

“Are you gonna name it?”  

"Do I have to?"

“Not really but where’s the fun in not doing it?”

“Hm...Flipper...”

“That’s so lame.” Leorio snorted and started heading towards the Ferris wheel as if the name embarrassed him that much.

“No, you’re lame.” Kurapika giggled, walking by his side. “Isn’t that right, Fipper?”

“Please change the name!”

“Nope.”

They boarded the Ferris wheel without much wait and it was slow. The only semblance of an adrenaline rush for Kurapika came when their basket rocked a little as it started it first revolution. Leorio chattered about the scenery and laced it with old memories of when he had last been on a ride like this. It was certainly a beautiful sight to see the mountains on one side and the city on the other. But when Kurapika had gone to take a quick at Leorio as he spoke, he got stuck.

It wasn’t as though there was any special lighting, only the mid-afternoon sun above them, but Leorio’s eyes were bright. Not in color but in essence. His eyes were the color of rich soil. Each seed of emotion planted in them sprouted and bloomed brilliantly. Kurapika loved it when the seeds he planted via comment or action grew. If he could, then he wanted to cultivate a field of happiness in those eyes. People… someone like Leorio deserved that.

Leorio caught his eye. “Take a picture it’ll last longer.” He winked.

“As if.” He shuddered dramatically.

“You know what? We should totally do it! Let’s go find a photo booth after this.”

“Oh no, no, no!”

Leorio laughed in response.

 

After that, the time between getting off the Ferris wheel and climbing back into his bed was compressed in his memories. All he remembered was finding out the photo booth was out of order. Car. Early dinner. Bed.

He closed his eyes, pulling Flipper close to his chest.

In the end, Kurapika was glad he said yes to getting breakfast with Leorio and all the subsequent events after.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope the chpt summary sounded intellectual lol
> 
> I keep splitting chapters because I like writing leopika together and I don't know how to pace myself yet but i'm learning as i'm writing this fic.
> 
> Plus I dont want to upload more than 4-5k words per thing. So consider this a team-building excursion since it certainly wasn't a date
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!! The plot should get moving into gear next chapter for sure!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An opportunity to move on. So he takes a step. But in which direction?

In less than a week, Kurapika learned why he had been hired so easily. High Grass employees never stayed long he was told. The exceptions to that rule were two bartenders and one cook. The pay wasn’t the reason since they were paid well above what one could make at another bar. It was the patrons who were the problem.

Many of them were volatile and the remaining others didn’t care to intervene. Thus far, Kurapika has wrenched a knife out of an intoxicated person’s hand at least three times. He dodged plates and glasses thrown at him when he catered to “important” customers as instructed. He answered calls to the bar where he had to respond to the most inane questions without hanging up. If and when a better opportunity to gain information arose, Kurapika would quit this job. He’d prefer if that moment was sooner rather than later.

Kurapika finished setting the chairs down from all the tables. Izunavi stood behind the counter, rechecking his inventory. The same man who had hired him. Unimposing and attentive enough to train Kurapika, he was a decent person as far as he knew. Izunavi expressed interest in teaching him how to mix drinks which he managed to ignore each time it came up.

Forty minutes remained until the store opened.  It was a great time to make “small” talk. Kurapika wouldn’t go as far as to say he trusted Izunavi but he didn’t exactly distrust him either. He would have to broach each topic carefully and gauge his responses for the time being.

“Does the owner ever come by?” A smooth start.

“Yeah. Sometimes he stops by, ‘specially if he’s entertaining business partners.” He leaned against the unoccupied section of the wall.

“What’s he like?”

“Dunno. It’s not like we’re drinking buddies. All I can say is that Mr. Nostrade is a very busy man which pisses off his daughter which sometimes means she comes here to complain.” He sighed. “You’ll probably see her more often than him if truth be told. She comes by here from time to time to snag a free drink since her father owns the place.”

“Oh.” He reached a point in the conversation where it branched into three potential paths. Option one: He continued this line of questions, asking for more information about Mr. Nostrade. It was a direct approach but it would arouse suspicion if he made one misstep. Two, he changed the subject and asked izunavi about something else he wanted to know. Mild risk. Three, Kurapika dropped the conversation altogether, say something irrelevant, and then ask another question much later. This was the safest route to take. However, he opted for the second one.

Kurapika glanced at the person waiting outside the door for the sole purpose of having a visual segue. “Do bartenders actually have to recognize the faces of people they’ve served? I’ve seen it depicted as such on tv.”

“Ha, is that so?” He smirked. “It’s not a requirement but it comes kinda naturally as time passes. Much easier if the person comes by often as you did or if there’s something peculiar about them like how they dress or their order.”

“If someone were to describe a person or show you a picture, would you know if you’ve seen them before?” He didn’t plan on testing that theory now. If Izunavi could excellent facial recall then he’d make use of that skill later.

Said man pinched his chin. “Probably a little better than most people could.” He locked eyes with him. “But sure. Hit me with what you got.”

“It was a hypothetical question.”

“I doubt it was. I mean I figured from the get-go that something was up with you. A person comes by a bar every night and doesn’t buy any alcohol then obviously they must be here for something else.”

“Fair enough.” There was no point in lying. “Though it’s odd that you hired me anyway with that knowledge in mind.” His shoulders were tense.

“We were hiring and you applied. Simple. As long as you don’t cause any trouble while on the job, you have nothing to worry about. So who’s the person you’re looking for?” Izunavi kept his tone light.

It might have been better to change the topic. He was desperate. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. He clenched his fist for a moment. “Tall stature, around 6’7’’ and muscular. Umber brown skin with strong facial features, a crooked nose, and long black hair.”

“Mmm, yeah. Think I saw someone like that many weeks ago. Only remember him ‘cause he got drunk and busted two of our tables using his head. I wonder what a guy like that did to get someone like you on his tail. Don’t answer that. I’ll keep an eye out for him and keep you posted. Do you have a cellphone?”

“Thank you and I. No I don’t.”

“You should get one. It’d be easier to conta-” He stopped as soon as he heard a knock on the glass door, followed by another one and another one. A young woman banged her fist against the door incessantly. Navy blue hair drawn back into a messy ponytail and a plain sundress, she didn’t look like their typical clientele. Izunavi looked slightly annoyed. There was still around thirty minutes until opening but the noise hadn’t subsided. Kurapika had expected for Izunavi to tell him to go politely tell the person to fuck off but instead, he said, “Boss’s daughter.” He fished out the store keys from his pocket and tossed them over to Kurapika. “Open up for her then lock it behind you.”

He did as he was told. Just as the locked, the woman swung the door open. “It’s about time you opened!” She brushed past Kurapika, sitting at the counter right in front of the bartender. “Izunavi, you remember my order, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He was already in the process of making it.

She gave Kurapika a quick once-over when he returned from the door. “There’s always a new face each time I come.” She returned her attention back to Izunavi. “Anyways, I’ve had such a long day. I was trying to shop but Dalzollene and Ivlenkov were being so annoying and unreasonable. ‘No this.’ ‘No that.’ Would it kill them to say yes? Did dad pay for them to remove it from their vocabulary? What’s the point of having bodyguards if I can only go to places they deem safe?”

Once they opened the store, Kurapika tuned her out, focusing on his other duties. Miss. Nostrade more or less spoke at Izunavi while he worked. He offered a few words, opting to nod and grunt while he prepared other customers drinks. At some point, the grunts and nods ceased which she definitely noticed.

“Listen to me when I’m talking to you!”

Izunavi set the last class on Kurapika’s platter. “My apologies ma’am. I need to make these drinks. I’m trying to listen to you the best I can but I can’t ignore my job either.”

Miss. Nostrade, unfortunately, remembered Kurapika’s existence. “You!” She swiveled in her seat to face him. “You’ll have to do then.”

Kurapika kept a blank face. “I’m preoccupied at the mo-“

“Nevermind all that.” She stared at him. He held her gaze. She broke away, smiling. “Just kidding! Not even I’d be that unreasonable. Come back here when you’re done.”

Kurapika wished for a busy night.

As his luck would have it, it wasn’t.  Few people entered the bar for the next three hours. Thus for roughly20 minutes at a time, Kurapika was seated next to Miss. Nostrade’s side. It must have been the third time he was back at her side and she was on her fourth drink. She dominated most of the conversation, starting right where she left off whenever he came back. Most of it was about how her days went, personal projects she’s currently working on, and other things Kurapika didn’t care about. Still, he managed to feign listening, humming every now and then between her chatter. And then finally she said something that made him piqued his interest.

“I’m so excited for the auction next month!”

“Auction?” Kurapika focused on breathing calmly. “I’ve heard about it in passing. But why would someone of your status possibly be interested in attending a local auction?” He knew why, though it was based on a rumor. He’s all but confirmed it now. 

There was a guarded bidding room where all the wealthy people conducted a “secret” auction. It was more of an open secret if anything and only invited guest were allowed in.  Items costing thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands were sold there. Kurapika wasn’t sure, nor did he care about, what the Scarlet Eyes’ monetary value was. He did not they were made with rare jewels and there were only three of its kind in the world. If he could get an invitation to enter one… He didn’t like it but if he acquainted Miss. Nostrade then…

“I go wherever my interests take me.”

“Those interests are?”

“Urgh, weren’t you listening to me before? I already said what they were.”

“I-”

Someone called out for a server. Kurapika excused himself from her scrutinizing glare. While he attended that table, a rush started and it hindered him from returning back to the boss’s daughter. Lucky for him, no one had instigated a fight yet and traffic had died down. He started wiping down his final table, eyes drifting towards the counter. Most of the seats were filled. Miss. Nostrade made conversation with the person on her right. There was something about hi that Kurapika couldn’t quite articulate. The man gesticulated as he spoke but the movements were more mechanical than natural. Miss. Nostrade didn’t seem to take any notice as she laughed and took a sip of her drink. Kurapika had all but stopped wiping the table, opting to observe them.

A pair that decided to stop and continue their conversation right in front of him obstructed his view. He tried to crane his head around them. It didn’t work. He moved, abandoning the table. In that short span of time, the man’s drink had spilled onto part of his leg. Flustered, Miss. Nostrade shoved some crumpled napkins into his hand. She must have caught Kurapika in the corner of her eyes. She turned to call him over. The man made his move: A quick motion of his hand over her drink and then it was back resting on the table in a matter of seconds.

Kurapika ran to them. He yanked the man out of his seat and grabbed her glasses. Miss. Nostrade almost fell out of hers from his actions.  “What’s your problem?” She said, her voice just below yelling.

“Excuse my rude behavior but I have reason to believe that this has been drugged.”

“Huh?”

“While you were waving at me, I saw him do this” Kurapika reenacted the motion. Izunavi came to them. “Hand that over to me. We’ll need to preserve it if it’s gonna get tested.”

He complied and passed the glass to him.

“Hey, hey, hey.” The speaker was behind him, grabbing his shoulder. Kurapika shrugged him off and faced the man. He stood a head taller and was more built than him. “Don’t you know the customer is king? You’re gonna have to lick my boots to make up for that bad customer service!”  He swung at him.

Kurapika swiped an empty tray from the counter. He held it up to catch the incoming fist. Had he dodged, those around him might have gotten hurt instead. The man recoiled, clutching his hand and groaning. Kurapika circled around him.

There was a semi-enforced policy in place that forbade employees from attacking customers unless circumstances were dire. Izunavi drilled it into his during his first and only day of training. Kurapika would hardly call this situation died. More of an annoyance than anything. Thankfully this little scuffle didn’t rile up some of the other customers into starting a real bar fight.

He stopped in front of a concrete pillar just as the other recovered. He barreled toward him. “Fuck you!” Kurapika remained rooted in his spot. When another fist was mere inches from his face he sidestepped. The man’s hand smashed against concrete. An audible crack. The man crumbled to the floor. He writhed in pain, repeating various expletives. He didn’t get up or acknowledge Kurapika as he walked away.

He needed to go check on Miss. Nostrade.

Someone blocked his way. The bright red-haired man he’d met after Chrollo looked down at him with dilated pupils. The corners of his lips stretched up and he bared his teeth: A poor imitation of a smile.

A chill crawled down his spine.

“What do you want?”

He faked a yawn. “That was utterly boring.” Then he tilted his head. “I’d be a much better opponent. Why don’t take me on? We can go outside if you worried about making a mess.”

“I’m working.”

“Go on break.”

“I’m not wasting a break to go brawl outside.”

“Kurapika! We need you in the back.” Izunavi appeared behind the man. He came to Kurapika’s side and dragged him away. The one being pushed allowed it to happen. He spoke to him once they were out of the red-haired man’s sight. “Be careful around that guy. His name’s Hisoka. Guy’s a loose cannon. That’s why I came over.”

“And I’m thankful for it.”  

Miss. Nostrade wasn’t at the counter when they passed it. She was instead in the cramped “break room” Izunavi led him into. She was huddled on the end of the couch, the only thing to sit on in the room. Her expression read as bored and relaxed but the tight grip around her legs said otherwise. Izunavi excused himself from the room.

“How are you feeling, Miss. Nostrade?” Kurapika said.

Her gaze shifted from the wall to him. “A bit tipsy from the drinks I had earlier but fine otherwise. You…” She pursed her lips. “Call me Neon. You don’t look that much older than me so it’s fine.”

“True. Neon, you should call someone to come pick you up and head to a clinic, in case you did ingest something prior to.”

Izunavi returned.

“No. I’ll make a housecall instead. I’m not gonna go to the hospital.” She returned her gaze back to the wall. “Besides, I left my cell phone at home and I don’t remember the numbers.”

“Then we’ll have to contact your father.” Izunavi started.

“Don’t do that! He doesn’t need to know any more than the fact that I snuck out to come here like you told him.” She scoffed. “Don’t act surprised. I know you called him when you stepped out after I got here.” Izunavi didn’t deny her accusation. “Anyway, he’s only going to make more people hover over me if he finds out this happened.”

“We still need to get you home and it’s not safe for you to venture out alone either. So we have to call someone, ma’am.”

“No, you don’t.” She pointed at Kurapika. “He can take me home.”

“I- What?”

Izunavi gave a more intelligible response. “He doesn’t know where you live.”

“I know where I freaking live so problem solved. He’s taking me home!”

The person in question wasn’t able to answer. Izunavi spun him around, slung an arm around his shoulders, and pulled him close. His voice dropped to a whisper. “I know this is unexpected but can you do this? It’ll be bad if we get on her bad side. All you have to do is get her home. That’s the priority. You don’t even have to come back here since your shift’s almost up-” “No it’s not.” “Then consider it me returning the favor you’re about to do for me. You’ll be paid for those hours.” “…Okay.”

The paid hours didn’t entice or convince Kurapika, to be honest. The opportunity to learn where the Nostrade family resided was more appealing. Plus it seemed as though Neon had taken a small liking to him and he’d didn’t want to ruin that. The other server working this shift and the one coming in later could handle his absence.

They both turned to face Neon.

“I’ll escort you back. We’re leaving through the backdoor.” Kurapika said. He opened the door and held it open. Neon nodded. She dusted off her dress as she stood. There was a small bounce in her step when she went through the door. Izunavi gave thanked him again with a pat on his shoulder before they left.

Beyond the back exit, they were greeted with humid darkness and the bright glow of street lights. It wasn’t that late but it was usually quiet around this side part of town. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Neon took the lead though they walked beside one another. It didn’t take long for her to start up a conversation.

“Have you seen the latest episode of Hunter Trials?”

“I’m not familiar with it.”

“Do you live under a rock? It’s like the best thing on tv right now.”

“You’re not the first to ask me that.”

 

Kurapika tried to let the conversation die multiple times but Neon was determined to resuscitate it.

“So your name is Kurapika, right?”

“Yes.”

Quiet.

“Have you been in a lot of fights?”

“Yes. Too many.”

 

He really tried…

 

 “When’s your birthday?”

“What?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know when you were born either. I’m trying to guess your sign. You have a strong Aries vibe.”

“April 4th.”

“I knew it!” She laughed. “Happy belated birthday since it was last month.”

“Um, thank you.”

“You don’t talk much but this feels so normal anyway.” Neon sighed.

“Pardon?”

“It’s not often I get to talk with a peer. I’m usually under heavy supervision. No, no we’re going left. Not that way.”

“Okay. Your father is quite protective of you.” It wasn’t a question but didn’t have the same gravity as a statement.  

“A businessman’s gotta keep his assets secure, you know. Kinda messed up but at least that means he buys me whatever I ask for.”

“I suppose that’s one benefit...” He didn’t know how to fully respond. How callous it was to view and use your own child. Then there was the other question: How was she even an asset? He might have asked had he not noticed something else.

Where were they going?

While it was true, Kurapika didn’t know where Neon lived, he was almost certain she didn’t live in an outlet mall which would have been the only destination if they continued forward.

He stopped walking. She did as well.

“Neon. Why are we going to the mall?”

“I wanted to check if they still had these boots I wanted in stock. It won’t take long. I promise!” She clasped her hands and stared up at him. Too bad for her, he had an immunity to “puppy dog eyes”.

“You can do that tomorrow. Right now, we need to head back to your home. It’s not safe to make a detour. I might be ill-equipped to handle multiple adversaries if someone recognizes you.”

Neon huffed then sighed. “Fine. We can come back here another time.” She turned around and resumed the trek to her house. Kurapika didn’t comment on her usage of “we”. It was both promising and worrisome.

They didn’t get very far. A car screeched to a stop next to them besides them. A man exited from the passenger side, gun already out. Kurapika pulled Neon back, shielding her with his own body. He reached into his bag as the man approached them.

“You better let her go if you don’t want to suffer the consequences.”

“Who are y-”

“Dalzollene!” Neon peaked over his shoulder.

“Dalzollene?” Kurapika repeated.

The man held his gun steady. “Madam are you injured in any way?” The next question was directed at him. “And who are you?”

He removed his hand from his bag, holding up his empty hand. “I work at High Grass. I was ordered to take Neon back home.”

“Yeah, he’s taking me home.” She stepped in front of him.

Dalzollene gave him a quick once-over. “The uniform checks out… However, we’ll take you home from here. Madam, please enter the vehicle.”

Neon glanced back at Kurapika. He thought she would have protested. Instead, she walked up to the car. Before she entered, she said, “See you another time.”

Dalzollene waited until she shut the door to address him again. “Why didn’t you contact her father about her leaving? We were on our way there to retrieve her. That way you wouldn’t have had to walk this far.”

“She requested that we don’t. So this was the next best option.”

He wasn’t entirely satisfied with the answer but accepted it nonetheless as indicated by his sigh and nod. “Alright then. You got a pen and paper in that bag of yours? You guys can call us should this situation happen again.”

Kurapika shook his head. “I don’t have either of those.”

Another sigh. “I’ll head down there later then. Or else I’ll never get to it.”

After that, the conversation was decidedly over. Dalzollene re-entered his vehicle and Kurapika was left there, alone. He didn’t have to head back to work. So he made his way back to Leorio’s apartment.

 

It rained.

He didn’t mind the way his clothes clung to his frame. Each weighted step remained unhurried. He simply walked and walked until he reached those familiar steps. Until he saw a familiar figure slouched over, head in hands.

“Leorio?” No response. Maybe the patter of the rain muted his voice. He said his name louder and still no response. Kurapika crouched in front of him, shaking his shoulder. “Leorio, don’t you know better than to sit out here. You’re going to get sick.” His own voice sounded distant and slightly panicked.

But thankfully... Thankfully, Leorio responded.

He looked at him. The usual warm in his eyes weakened. A moment too long went by. Kurapika’s chest felt tight. Leorio finally said, “Hey I thought you had work.”

“I got off early.” It wasn’t the whole truth but he’d tell him about his day if it’d get a better reaction out of him. He didn’t know what time it was but knew that Leorio’s shift ended at least an hour ago. Kurapika also knew that that meant he’s been sitting there since then because he was still in his scrubs. “Let’s move this conversation inside.”

“Okay.”

Wordlessly, Leorio stood up. The forlorn man dragged his feet and dripped across the lobby and elevator and the apartment floor. Kurapika had been behind him, observing. He didn’t like the heavy slump of his shoulders, the hollowness in his eyes, and the lifelessness of his movements.

“I’m going to go take a shower.” Leorio didn’t wait for him to answer. His bedroom door shut with a soft click. Kurapika stared at that door before going off to take a shower as well.

He had to do something.

Kurapika finished.

There were no signs of Leorio in either the kitchen or living room. It was uncomfortably quiet, too. He’d grown used to hearing music from the stereo or the tv playing. There was none of that now. Kurapika went back into the hallway.   

“Leorio.” He knocked. “Can I come in?”

“…sure.”

He opened the door. It was dark. The only light came from the hallway. Leorio sat on the edge of his bed. He was dressed in his pajamas, towel still hanging around his shoulders. Kurapika remained standing in the doorway.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Leorio,” he said sternly. “If you don’t want to talk to me then that’s fine. I won’t force you. But we’re not going to pretend that nothing’s wrong.”

Leorio glanced at him then back at the tile floor. “I’ll talk about it.” He shook his head then rubbed his face. “You’d think I wouldn’t be as affected after all this time but. Let me start with what happened. We recently got a new patient. She is, I mean was, very sick. We couldn’t treat her in time; she found us too late and passed away today. Had she come earlier...” He wiped cheeks. “Had she come earlier then she wouldn’t have had to die from it.” He wiped his face again. “It’s not the first time one of our patients died but this case reminds of what happened to my childhood best friend. We couldn’t afford to take him to a doctor and one day…he was gone.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He drew closer. Unsure if touch would help soothe him as it had for Kurapika before. He was about to offer more condolence but then Leorio spoke again.   

“No, it’s... Well, I guess it’s not fine. It’s pretty fucked up actually. I have all this damn money and yet I haven’t even made a fraction of a difference!” He locked eyes with Kurapika who gave him a puzzled look. “Oh, right I haven’t told you. Back when I was 19, I won a competition and got more money than I could ever imagine. So I paid for some surgeries, for med school and opened up a clinic. I buy some of our equipment too so we can offer more services almost free of charge. Anyway, we canvas around and try to promote our place as much as we can but in the end, it’s not enough. People are still gonna die because not everyone’s gonna find us and the healthcare system is shit. There’s too much wrong. I really thought I could make a difference.” He trailed off.

Kurapika stepped in front of the hunched man and cupped his cheeks with both hands. They were tear-stained but he ignored it. “I’m going to ask you a series of questions. Don’t say anything. Only nod for yes and shake for no. Understand?”

Leorio’s brow furrowed but he nodded anyway.

“Did you win a competition that gave you a large sum of money?”

Nod.

“Instead of buying a mansion and other ostentatious items, did you build, help fund, and work at a clinic where patients pay almost nothing for state-of-the-art care?”

Nod.

“Are there patients who thank you for what you’ve done for them? Are you still helping people and taking house calls?”

Nod.

“You’ve made a great difference in the lives of so many people.” His included, somehow.

Shake. “But-”

Kurapika pressed his cheeks. “I didn’t say you could speak yet.”

“…”

“The issue is a beast unto itself and difficult to undermine, especially when it feels you’re fighting alone. But don’t diminish what you’ve done. You’ve done something great. You’ve done so much. I’ll say it again. You’re continuing to make a difference in so many people’s lives.” He smiled and stroked his thumb near the corner of Leorio’s eye to wipe away a tear. Then he realized what he had done. He quickly unlatched his hands and kept them firmly by his sides. He curled his toes, waiting for a response.

“I… um. Thank you, Kurapika,” Leorio smiled up at him. His eyes were warmer than they had been when he found him on the steps but not as warm as they usually were.

He could have left then. The conversation had reached a natural stop after all. Kurapika found that he didn’t want to. Leorio hadn’t indicated he wanted him to leave yet either. “If you’re not going to sleep right now then we could watch that movie you told me about earlier this week.” He stumbled over his words, biting the inside of his cheek when done.

“Yeah! Yeah, we can do that” He stood and stretched his limbs. “We’re gonna have to head down to Busterblock then. Lemme go get changed.”

“Why don’t we go as is?”

“In our pjs?”

“Yeah. What? Don’t give me that look. It’s not like we’re going to dinner.”

“It’s the matter of principle, Kurapika. The principle.” He shooed him away with a hand. “Now begone, heathen! I need to change into some sweats.”

“Whatever.” Kurapika rolled his eyes, a hint of a smile on his face as he left the room.

For once Leorio didn’t take forever to change. In less than ten minutes they were inside his car driving to the store. It wasn’t far but it was still raining and they’d rather not get wet again. They pulled into the plaza and dashed inside the store.

Leorio made a beeline for the aisle that presumably had their movie. Kurapika walked around, glancing at the some of the giant cardboard cutouts stationed around. He picked up a couple of movies, reading the back covers.

“Hey!” Leorio suddenly appeared behind him. Kurapika tensed slightly. No other visible reaction besides that.

“Yes?” he turned to face him.

“I was thinking-”

“That’s rare.”

“Hush, someone much more mature and cooler than you is talking. Anyway, I was thinking we should also have a movie marathon since you haven’t seen much stuff. Are you free tomorrow?”

He couldn’t help but smile. “Yes I am and we can do that.”

“Great! We can pick out four more, excluding this one.” He waved the VHS in front of Kurapika’s face who nodded.

Thus started their quest to find four movies they could agree on watching. As it turned out, they had different views on what constituted as a worthwhile movie.

“This one is so bad it’s good. We have to watch it.” Leorio grinned.

He grimaced. “Why don’t we just watch something that’s actually good?”

“You derive a certain type of pleasure from this category of movie. An award-winning film does not compare to the earnestly bad dialogue, acting, and, um, everything that this has to offer.”

“Fine but we have to get good movies too. I don’t want my knowledge base to be full of bad one.”

“You can count on me!”

They ended up choosing two “good” movies and two “horrifically bad” ones. Leorio was quite pleased with their selection. Kurapika was, admittedly, excited to watch them with him. When they entered inside the apartment, the former worked on setting up the movies and whatnot while the latter was tasked with making popcorn. He poured the contents of the bag into a large bowl.

“Okay ready when you are!”

The man, sporting his pajamas once more, had covered the couch with a blanket and placed two more on top of it. Kurapika set the bowl down on the cushion between them. He wrapped one of the blankets around himself as Leorio got up to press play and test the volume.

The first film was adequate. He could understand why it was the other’s favorite. Not to mention and Kurapika never would, Leorio’s commentary and laughter certainly elevated his opinion on it. The second one was one of the allegedly “so bad it’s good.” It was bad. The plot was convoluted enough that he stopped caring about it. At some point during it, Leorio asked him to help toss popcorn in his mouth. It quickly devolved into Kurapika simply throwing popcorn at his face.

They must have fallen asleep halfway through the middle of the third movie.

Three short loud knocks sounded from the front door. Kurapika’s eyes snapped open. He gingerly removed Leorio’s leg from his lap. The other snored away.

Still a bit bleary-eyed, he answered the door. A tall man dressed in a black and white suit with a round bucket hat to match. His beard was trimmed short and one of his ears was pierced. Despite his questionable attire, he held himself with an air of authority. Kurapika clenched the doorknob, eyeing him warily.

“Good afternoon. Did I wake you up?” He had a polite smile. “My name is Mizai.”

“Yes. What do you want?”

“Are you Kurapika, an employee of High Grass?”

“What about it?”

“Did you work last night?”

He frowned. “Why is a cop interrogating me?”

“I’m not an officer nor are you being interrogated. Simply a private investigator. You’re free to end this conversation anytime.”

“Okay then,” Kurapika said, shutting the door. However, such an endeavor was impeded by the man sticking out his foot. Kurapika begrudgingly pulled the door open again.

“Please don’t do that. I’ll cut to the chase. Two men, Neon Nostrade’s bodyguards specifically, were killed near your work around the time you were supposedly working. The timesheet indicates you completed your shift yet your whereabouts were unknown thereafter nine o’clock. Care to fill in that gap?”

“Are you asking me that as a possible suspect or witness?”

 “Can’t say yet.” Mizai smiled slightly. “So are you going to answer any of my questions directly?”

“I was here. Went to Busterblock with my roommate. Then came back here. Anything else?” Kurapika said coolly.

“No, I think we’re done for now.” Mizai put his hand in his breast pocket. “Nevertheless, if you have any information you’d like to share or add on, then please don’t hesitate to contact my office.” He handed him a business card. 

Kurapika took it. “Okay, thank you. Bye.” He closed the door then looked over to his right.

Leorio was awake, sitting up on the couch. He rubbed his eyes then stretched. “Who was that?” His words had a slight drag to them as he fought off a yawn.

He shrugged. “He was just asking if I knew anything about the apparent murders last night.”

“What! There was a murder?” He sounded much more awake.

“Yes near my work but I don’t know anything about it. It happened after I left.” He knew this would lead to an awkward pause where Leorio would stew in his thoughts. He decided to smoothly redirect their talk. “I’m hungry.”

It took a moment for him to reply. Leorio glanced at the clock. “Oh me too! It’s a little too late for brunch but I could really go for some pancakes. Want to be my helpful assistant?” He winked.

Kurapika very visibly shuddered then expertly dodged the pillow thrown at him. A small laugh sputtered out of him. “Okay, fine. I’ll help you chef Leorio.”

“That’s more like it.” Leorio got up. “Meet me back here in 30. We’ll go over our game plan then!” He went off into his bedroom before Kurapika had a chance to respond.

 

The game plan Leorio explained, when they had met back up, was attempting to make chocolate chip pancake. It was a feat he had yet to attempt.  They used a recipe card that he had swiped during one of their grocery trips. Kurapika was tasked with mixing the ingredients and washing the bowls and frying pan when he was done cooking. Leorio had a habit of humming and talking to himself while cooking. It was kind of cute. Kurapika was finishing up the last one when he came up to him.

“These came out really good.” Something appeared in his peripheral vision. “Here try it.”

Kurapika turned his head to see him holding up a piece of a pancake impaled by a fork. He nodded and took a bite. It was sweeter than most food he ate but it was good. He smiled. “Wow, it does taste good.”

Leorio guffawed. “Of course it does. I’m the one who made it!”

“Exactly. That’s why I assumed you would have burned most of them.”

“You insult me no longer. Come here!” Leorio pulled him into a headlock… or at least he intended to.

Kurapika had turned around as the other lunged for him. It made such that when Leorio drew him in, instead of being sideways, they faced each other. And boy, were their faces close. Thankfully, their height difference gave them some distance but Leorio had leaned down so the distance wasn’t that great. They were still. Kurapika looked into Leorio’s eyes. Leorio looked into his. His heart pounded. This was beyond awkward and veered towards the territory of mortifying yet not completely. Not completely because he didn’t exactly want to move yet. 

Leorio broke their charged silence.

His hand trailed up a bit to rest at the nape of his neck. “Can I kiss you?”

“What?” His face flushed. He knew the answer. _Yes, yes, yes!_ He also knew better.

The tips of Leorio’s ears were red. He took a deep breath before continuing. “Kurapika, I really like you. As in I have feelings for you… the romantic kind. I know we’ve only known each other for a short amount of time but I-”

Kurapika covered his mouth with his hand. “I like you too.” He smiled shyly. “But I can’t.” He 'shouldn’t' was more like it. He shouldn’t indulge in this kind of thing. “It’s not you or anyone else. Just I’m…”

Leorio moved his hand away. He offered him a kind and understanding smile. His eyes were the same way though they had a shine to them. “You’re not ready?”

That wasn’t it but it was more of an answer he could give right now. “Yes.”

“Then kiss me when you are ready.” Leorio released his hold on him and Kurapika immediately felt colder. “Let’s go eat before the food gets cold.”

Brunch was eaten in the living room with the third movie from last night replaying to avoid the awkwardness of eating in the dining room. This film had an engaging plot and superb acting as far as he could tell. However, his thoughts kept drifting off to the person sitting beside him.

He could be selfish just this once… again.

It was alright.

He could break things off when it was necessary.

Would it be alright?

He wanted to take a chance.

The credits began to roll.

“Leorio.” Kurapika licked his lips, noting the sweet taste. Leorio’s would probably taste the same. He scooted closer to him on the sofa.

“Yeah?”

“I-”

The phone rang. Kurapika nearly jumped out of his skin. He stood and went over to it, having lost his nerve.

“Hello?”

“Is this Kurapika speaking? If not, put him on the line.” The

“Who is this.”

“This is Light Nostrade. I’m inviting you to come to my house. I’d prefer to discuss this in person. Are you available at the moment?”

This must have been about the murders. Still, this was an opportunity to use to his advantage. “I’m available. I’ll be over there shortly. What’s the address?”

Mr. Nostrade recited it then promptly hung up.

Leorio looked at him quizzically.

“It’s work-related. Can I borrow your car? I want to get back here as soon as I can.”

“Sure thing. I didn’t know you had a license.” He went to his room and returned to give him the item in question.

“I have it just in case.” He spoke as he entered his own room to grab his bag. He was by the door when Leorio said. “Make sure not get a scratch on Blanche.”

“I’ll try.” He shut the door behind him.

 

The house turned out to be a mansion, as expected. It was on a large plot of land at the edge of the town. Kurapika parked a block away. He didn’t want them to see him driving the car as a precaution. There were two security guards who greeted him at the entrance gate. He had the displeasure of getting frisked by them before he gained permission to enter. It was a smart, albeit last minute, decision to leave his bag in the car.

It was nicely decorated, to say the least, though few family pictures or anything that made it feel like a home. And the tall ceiling and wide hallways swallowed his presence in a way so dissimilar from standing in an open field: It was devoid of life. One of the maids led him to Mr. Nostrade’s office. A middle-aged man sat solemnly behind a desk.

“Good afternoon, sir. You’ve asked me to come here.”

“Why yes. Kurapika, was it?” He gestured to one of the chairs in front of him.  “Take a seat. I understand you attempted to escort my daughter here.”

Kurapika did as he was instructed. “Yes, I did per her request.”

“I also understand you were able to subdue the man who tried to attack you that same night.” His voice was even.

“Yes, that is correct. May I ask why I’ve been called in? Is this about the bodyguards? I’d rather not waste your time if that’s the case because I don’t know anything about that.”

Mr. Nostrade folded his hands on the desk. “This is about the guards. However, that is not what I wanted to talk about.

Kurapika remained silent.

“I wanted to offer you a position as one of my daughter’s personal guards. She’s requested you personally. But your appearance doesn’t inspire much confidence in your ability to perform the task.”

He wasn’t going to let this offer slip away from him. “It is true that I don’t appear capable but that is all the more to your benefit.” His mind raced for the right words to say. Mr. Nostrade looked intrigued. “I am skilled in fighting yet my build doesn’t draw any attention to me. If Neon wanted to do something inconspicuously then my presence wouldn’t draw any towards us compared to someone who obviously looked like a bodyguard.”

Mr. Nostrade hummed. They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. “You’ve raised an interesting point. You’re hired. I’ll contact you again on your start date. You may leave.”

“Thank you, sir.” Kurapika stood and bowed his head. He exited the room, turning to face the hallway. He froze.

Tall stature, around 6’7’’ and muscular.

Umber brown skin with strong facial features, a crooked nose, and long black hair.

Loved to drink.

Disregard for human life.

Monster.

The man stood there with two other men. He grinned, clapping a hand against the shortest one’s back. Kurapika made sure to sear the other two’s appearance into his mind. Those were probably his friends.

The tallest man spoke. “We just got back but I could go for some booze right now. Let’s head over to that High Blast place!” His laugh made Kurapika’s skin itch. He remained still watching them.

“Not today, Uvo. I have other plans,” said the other man present. He was slim and tall though not as tall as Kurapika’s current target.

Uvo loosened his grip on the struggling blond and started nuzzling his head. “What about you Shalnark? Accompany your old pal?”

“Nope! I’m not gonna foot the bill this time.” Somehow the smaller man was able to get Uvo to start walking while under his grasp. The trio headed into the opposite hallway from Kurapika still debating.

Once they were out of his line of sight, he left the mansion. He concentrated on keeping a neutral face. His heart pounded. Kurapika made it outside the gate with a quick stride. Before he made it back to the car, he made a stop by a payphone. He inserted the right amount of coins, dialing Leorio’s number.

“Hello?”   

“It’s Kurapika. I’m going to need the car for a few more hours. Do you mind?”

“It’s not a problem. What’s happening though? You don’t sound that great.”

He ignored his question and instead said. “Thank you. Good night, Leorio.” He hung up.

There was no time to waste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is looooooooooong but I was very determined to get back on track and show some Plot this chapter!! This was supposed to happen during chapter 3 lol but it's been delayed all in the name of development or at least I hope so! Sorry if it's a little dialogue heavy,,, gotta work on that


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